


Untouchable

by GypsySisters



Category: The Blacklist (TV)
Genre: Angst, Dreams, Dreamscapes, Drunk Dialing, F/M, Keenler - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-15 23:56:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9264743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GypsySisters/pseuds/GypsySisters
Summary: Written for the following prompt:Can you write about Liz jealous because of Ressler has a date (at the end the girl is not really his date, but Liz didn’t know before), then Ressler give her explanation (hinting he has feelings only for Liz). The point is Liz jealous. The story set after she’s reinstalled as an FBI agent.





	1. Chapter 1

Raymond insisted the warehouse would be a temporary solution, but Elizabeth and her family had been living there long enough that things started to unravel. The sink was constantly overflowing with dishes. The fridge was full of expired leftovers. And clutter seemed to apear out of nowhere.

But they were a family. Together. At last.

Agnes was up late. Long after Tom dozed off, Liz was finally able to soothe her to sleep, then she left her family asleep in the bedroom to stay up, desperate for a moment to be alone with her thoughts, to process the events of the day and unwind. 

She should be happy, right? She had her family. She had her job back. She should be happy. 

A few glasses of wine later, she’d had her phone in one hand and–before she knew what she was doing–it was pressed against her cheek, ringing…

“Hello. Keen?”

“Hiiii. Hmmm.” Liz laughed.

“Keen, are you…drunk?”

“Mmm-no. Naw. I jus’ had–mmmm–just a bit…”

She heard a familiar chuckle on the other end.

“Whooooze this?”

“Are you serious? This is Agent Ressler. Donald. Donald Ressler. I–you called me.”

“Oh! Hiiii,” she grinned. “Ressler. Ress. Mmm.” Then she heard a woman’s muffled voice in the background, and suddenly her adrenaline kicked in. “Who–Are you with someone?”

He sounded nervous. “Keen, can this wait until tomorrow? I’m kinda busy right now.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sure. No big deal.”

“Ok.” There was a pause, and then, in a soft tone, Ressler said, “Take care of yourself, Keen. Drink some water. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah. Ok.” She hung up and drifted off, asleep on the sofa.

_She was running through the forest, Ressler hot on her trail. The leaves fell around them like tired prayers, crunched underfoot like expired dreams. He threw her onto the ground, tackling her, pinning her down. She felt the pressure of his hand against her stomach.“Stop,” he heaved, “stop!” There was pain in his eyes, mized with a deep sense of longing. She openned her mouth, but no words came out. Then he knelt down and cupped her face, running his thumb over her lips._

_Breathless, she panted, “You wouldn’t.”_

_“I would,” he confessed, “you know I would.” Then he pulled her up to face him, brushing her wild hair back behind her shoulders. She was golden, caught up in a flurry of light, aglow under the canopy of yellow leaves._

_She reached up and touched his face. His expression melted. As they leaned slowly closer and closer together, she felt his arm around her waist, pulling her to him._

_She closed her eyes. The musk of the leaves mingled with the smell of his sweat. She brushed her cheek against his and shivers ran down her spine. Leaning forward, mouths a mere breath apart, she felt him utter her name before she heard the word, “Elizabeth Keen…”_

“Lizzie…Lizzie…you are going to be late!” It was morning. Tom was shaking her awake. Confused and disoriented, she looked around. She must have fallen asleep on the couch.

Stammering, cheeks flushed, she excused herself to the bathroom to clean up.

Safely behind the closed door, she exhaled while desires from her dream unspooled in the pit of her belly.  The dream had seemed so real, so intimate, so passionate. She felt an ache inside her in a place where she didn’t think she could feel. The cool tile against the soles of her feet grounded her. This isn't the time, Liz. Late. Late for work. Get it together.

She straightened her clothes as well as she could, only to discover the milk stain from when Agnes threw up on her yesterday. She stopped, shut her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. _“In. Out. Don’t be mad. In. Out, She’s just a baby. In. Out. Spit Up is part of the package.”_ Liz unclenched her jaw and brought her thoughts back to reality. She slipped out of her blouse, threw it on the mountain of laundry and started rifling through her drawers for something decent to wear.

Did they seriously have no clean laundry?

She wouldn’t be surprised. Tom seemed to be wearing the same shirt every time she saw him. She was grateful he was taking care of Agnes while she was at work, but would it be so impossible to run a load of clothes every once in awhile, especially since she was on “Mommy Duty” the second she walked through the door?

Liz dug through pile after pile of musky clothes. It was pointless. She finally settled on a dark button up that was flowy enough to mask how wrinkled it was and a fitted pair of slacks. Hair tousled, water splashed on her face, she emerged from the bathroom.

“Wow.” She looked up, and there was Tom, mouth slightly open, frozen in place with a spatula in one hand and an uncracked egg in the other. “You are radiant.”

She blushed. The flattery was genuine. And earnest. He just wanted her to feel good about herself, about their relationship. It was…sweet. And yet?

The same feeling that had been irking her last night was back. She had everything she’d wanted, but she felt like something was off. Something was missing.

As soon as the doubt entered her head, she pushed it down and back into a black hole under her heart. _No. Liz. You will not self-destruct._ She smiled and laughed (perhaps a little too enthusiastically at Tom), “You’ll tell a girl anything she wants to hear.”

He laughed along, but studied her the whole time. There was a look about her these days, as if she was haunted by something. He walked over and held her in his arms. “You’re going to do great today, Lizzie. I know it’s your first day back as an agent, but things will feel normal soon. You’ve got this.”

Would she accept his comfort? Would his words be encouraging? She returned his affectionate gaze and kissed him before leaving, but her demeanor was guarded, and he didn’t like it one bit.


	2. Chapter 2

The industrial doors of the elevator clanged shut. The sound was soothing. It helped Elizabeth Keen prepare her mind for work. As the elevator descended, she closed her eyes and left her everyday worries behind in the world above. The whirring of the descent lulling her into a state of peace. She felt her chest loosen, felt herself breathe more easily, felt a sense of calm that she had not felt in ages.

It felt like she was coming home.

As she walked into the Post Office, she was acknowledged by the gazes and nods of her co-workers, her friends, her closest companions.

“Hey...um...Agent Keen?”

She turned to see a bashful and warm smile, “Aram, please, call me Elizabeth.”

“Elizabeth. Sorry. Of course. I…” He laughed nervously and looked at his hands.

Liz reached out and held his hands, and the gesture made him look up onto her eyes, surprised, “Aram, I’m sorry. I know I will have to earn back your trust, and the trust of everyone here. I am sorry that I had to lie to you in order to protect my family, I am so sorry that I hurt you…”

“No, that’s not it,” he interrupted her, “I mean...yes...of course it hurt to realize...of but it doesn’t matter…” he broke off his rambling to bury her in an affectionate hug, “I’m just so glad you’re back...like...Really Back!”

Liz was shocked, but then she laughed and returned the embrace. “Oh, Aram...you have no idea…”

As they let each other go, Harold Cooper walked up, laughing, “I see I am not the only one relieved to have you back in your full capacity.”

“Cooper!” Liz echoed his joy. Maybe the warmth of Aram’s affection was infectious. Maybe it was just an expression of their relief. But Liz opened up her arms and Cooper responded in kind, and the two embraced, laughing, and Liz’s eyes started to smart.

“Oh, Keen,” he said into her hair. “I am so grateful.”

She stepped back and wiped her eye. And then she saw him. Donald Ressler had walked up while they were embracing and was now right there with them. She had already hugged two people. It would have been so simple to reach out and embrace her old partner. She wanted to. She felt inextricably pulled towards him, but something stopped her.

In a moment, she was back in her dream, the golden glow of the sky setting his hair ablaze. She remembered the feel of his cheek against hers, and her hand shot up to her face as she blushed. What was she? A school girl? This was ridiculous. Her stomach was all in knots.

He smiled, looked down at the floor in thought, then stepped forward, hand extended. She took it. “Keen.”

“Ressler.”

He squeezed her palm once, then released her, “It’s good to have you back.”

They exchanged a smile, then Cooper launched into the day’s assignment. There were no new cases from Reddington, but there was a mountain of paperwork, and the two agents dove right in, finishing one file after another with the focussed determination of two partners relieved to be working together toward the same goal once again. Their rhythm felt intuitive and energizing.

As they were wrapping up a stack of files, Liz caught Don’s eye, “Hey...I was thinking of taking lunch at the Chinese place today. Wadda ya say? Wanna join me?”

“Oh,” Don coughed. “I...I have plans.”

Liz gulped. “Oh?”

“Yeah…” Don smiled nervously, trying to decide how much to divulge.

Liz’s synapses started firing, making associations and connections, “Oh! Is it the same woman from last night?” She blushed. She felt so foolish.

“Yes,” he smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry. It hasn’t been the right time to bring it up yet…”

Ressler had a new woman in his life. Liz felt something sink inside her. She gulped, then masked the storm of her feelings with a smile, “I’m so happy for you. It’s...she’s the first...since Audrey, I mean. I...I want you to be happy...I’m happy for you...oh God I’m rambling. I’m so sorry…”

Don watched her composure unravel, then burst out in a laugh. Liz laughed along, nervously. She wasn’t sure what was so funny, but something that she’d said seemed to touch something in him. Don leaned against her desk and cocked his head at her. “It’s not a date, Liz. I have a meeting with an informant. She’s not ready to come in, but after our meeting last night, she agreed to share her files with me. That’s why we’re meeting today. And I’ll bring the case to Cooper after I have the evidence in hand.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“So...you’re not seeing anyone?”

Ressler grinned. “Why? You trying to set me up with someone, Keen?”

She burst out laughing, “Oh God no!”

Ressler looked away in thought, then rubbed his thumb over his lips and shook his head before looking back at her. “I...should get to my meeting…”

“Of course.” She got busy looking through the files on her desk, right next to where he was leaning. He was so close to her. She could easily brush her arm against his leg, could easily touch his shirt, could even stand up and gaze into his eyes. She felt tight. She felt like her insides were spinning like a tornado of leaves. What was happening? Why? How? How was she feeling this way?

She fumbled with a file and dropped it on the floor and the papers within it scattered. The two of them dropped to their knees to gather it up. But, suddenly, Don grabbed her hand and she looked up into his eyes, “Liz...I don’t want to lose you again.”

She gulped, dropped his hand, then raised her arms as he buried her in an embrace. As they held each other, she knew why she couldn’t have hugged him in front of the others. Kneeling on scattered papers, buried in his arms, she did not want to let go. She leaned her head into his neck as breathed heavily, starting to cry, as if each breath she took in this moment was releasing one inner demon at a time. She started to shake.

Don whispered into her hair, “It’s ok. I’m not going anywhere. It’s ok. It’s ok. You have me. It’s ok…”

She leaned back, upset, “I don’t know why I’m so sad.”

He wiped the tears off her cheeks and smiled sadly. “It’s ok.”

“I’m sorry,” she stood up and moved away from him, “I shouldn’t be burdening you with this. You have your lunch to get to.”

“Liz,” he stood and caught her by the arm, turning her to face him. “There is no place I’d rather be.”

She took in a shaky breath and sighed. She had Tom. And Agnes. And Reddington. Her life was one unpredictable whirlwind after another. She had so many obligations, so many duties, so many people who wanted a piece of her, needed her to be a part of their lives. But the strength she found in Donald Ressler anchored her. She reached out and squeezed his arm. “Me either,” she confessed like a promise that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep.

He accepted her words and nodded. “Do...you want to meet the informant with me? We could always grab Chinese after.”

Liz grabbed her coat. “I’d like that.”


End file.
